


endearments

by Satine86



Series: that modern AU [2]
Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Early Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Humor, New Relationship, Pet Names, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 19:31:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16001807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Satine86/pseuds/Satine86
Summary: “This is actually a good conversation to have. Terms of endearment. What’s off limits?”





	endearments

**Author's Note:**

> This was spawned by a conversation with kagee (like half the shit I write anymore) and the fact that recently I have been thinking A LOT about Phillip's life in TTP verse, pre-Anne. He was a very sad, very lonely baby. Anne is making up for that fact.

Even though it had been nearly three weeks, he still wasn’t used to it. But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was just unusual compared to everything before. Phillip had been used to working late, and going home alone. Sure, the Barnums had him over for dinner regularly, but that was different. He still came back to an empty apartment. 

Not anymore though. 

Because there was Anne. His girlfriend. 

She came over more often than not, even if it meant just curling up on his couch while he went over paperwork. Her feet resting against his thigh while he stared at spreadsheets on his laptop, and she binged watched home makeover shows. 

Those moments were the strangest things to get used to. Not the dates, not the goodnight kisses, or flirtatious smiles at work. It was moments when they walked home together, and then the apartment wasn’t empty. Or when she would rush out the door so she wasn’t late for rehearsal, but not before she pressed an absent kiss to his cheek. And it was the simplest things that he continually marveled at. Like the fact his sweatshirt now seemed to permanently smell like her because she put it on whenever she was cold. It was that she was starting to leave little bits of herself behind, for ease, for comfort. Because she planned on staying. 

Like now, she had arrived at his place early in the day with no plan other than to spend it with him. She was sat on his couch, her feet propped on the coffee as she scrolled through Netflix, a look of annoyance on her face. 

“Why does it take longer to decide what to watch, than to actually watch it?” she asked, eyes never leaving the screen. 

“It’s a conspiracy,” he said and handed her the bowl of popcorn. He stepped over her legs, took his spot on the couch. 

“Thank you, baby.” Anne grinned widely, propping the bowl on her lap. Phillip, however, wasn’t quite sure how to react. So he ended up just kind of, pausing. Staring at her.

“What?” she asked after a second, looking down at herself self-consciously.

“Nothing, you just. You called me that… in the Hamptons. Once.” 

She tilted her head, thinking. Slowly a smile spread across her face. “Yeah, I did. Do you not like it?” 

It wasn’t that he didn’t like it, it was just another one of those strange things to get used to. If she was going to really start calling them that. The whole thing was a little beyond him. 

“No, it’s not that,” he said slowly. “It’s just… different.” 

Anne seemed to have completely forgotten her task of searching for a movie, and instead sat everything aside in order to turn and look at Phillip. “This is actually a good conversation to have. Terms of endearment. What’s off limits?” 

Phillip laughed. “Um… I have no idea?” He shook his head. “I can’t think of a time when anyone’s ever used one? Aside from you, just now.” 

“Really?” Anne propped her elbow on the back of the couch, chin resting on her fist. She gave him a very discerning look, as if she were taking apart a puzzle. 

“Really.” Phillip tried to think of a good way to phrase it. He wasn’t entirely sure there was one though. “Dating wasn’t… I mean a few relationships that lasted a couple months. But mostly it was a lot of drunken one night stands, or really casual hookups. None of that was really conducive for pet names.” He laughed, a little nervous, hoping to defuse an awkward situation. 

“I see.” She nodded, taking it all in. “Well, you know what we’re going to do, right?” 

“What?” 

“We’re going to figure out your favorite.” She grinned at him. Phillip laughed then, a true laugh.

“Are we?” 

“Yes, dear, we are.” 

“Do I have to participate too… honey?” He shrugged.

“No, you don’t. This is all about you. Dearest.” 

“Okay. This is weird. But okay.” 

“It’s not weird. We’re making up for lost experiences. Plus you honestly don’t know which ones you might like, so we’ll figure it out. Together.” She reached out and stroked his cheek gently. “Darling.” 

“That one is a no if you’re going to keep creepily petting my face.” 

“Whatever you say, sweetheart.” 

For however ridiculous Phillip thought it was, Anne seemed completely serious. Each one said as if it were a perfectly natural thing. That was another strange thing to add to the list. The subtle, almost mundane displays of affection. The pet names just another part of that. 

“This is going to be a long afternoon, isn’t it?” 

“Only if you let it be, love.” 

“What if you run out?” 

“I won’t run out, sugar. There are infinite possibilities.” She scooted herself a little closer, threw her legs over his lap. 

“That was just southern.” 

“Sugarlumps?” 

“Oh, my god. No,” he laughed. 

She was giggling now, and thought for a moment. “What about sweetpea?” She tapped the tip of his nose with her finger. “I think I like sweetpea.”

“You are having entirely too much fun with this.” 

“It should be fun, lover.” 

Phillip couldn’t keep it together after that. He buried his against the couch cushions and laughed himself silly. When he finally managed to calm down he looked at Anne, and found her watching him with a small smile.

“What?” He frowned, suddenly self-conscious.

She shook her head. “Nothing, it's just nice to see you happy, is all.” Anne paused, remembered her task. “Muffin.”

Phillip knew his face was already flushed from laughing, but he could feel it get hotter at her comments. “It's nice to be happy…” he said quietly. Then he decided to distract from the whole thing. “Although muffin just makes it sound like you're hungry.”

Anne glanced at her now forgotten popcorn. “We could order pizza?” She grinned.

“We could,” Phillip agreed with a nod.

Her face lit up and she moved to grab one of their cellphones. She went for his on the end table next to the couch. Anne got up onto her knees and leaned forward to reach around him, bringing her chest distractingly close to his face. She slowly pulled back, the phone in hand.

Phillip arched an eyebrow at her. She shrugged as if she hadn't done it completely on purpose, and then turned around in order to lean back against his chest.

“What kind do you want?” she asked, already looking up the place a block over. “Pookie.”

“I don't care.”

“You're sure, snookums?”

Phillip shielded his eyes, shook his head. “How are you even keeping a straight face?”

“This is a very important task, baby. It's not a laughing matter,” she said, already dialing the restaurant. 

It wasn't lost on him that “baby” seemed to be her default, because he was almost certain that time was just a slip. But he didn't point it out, instead deciding it was better to let her have her fun. Even if his face was starting to feel like it was on fire.

 

***

 

Eventually they settled in with a movie, and managed to devour an entire pizza between. Anne also managed to continue her quest. There were a few she repeated, and he got the impression she honestly liked them. She also slipped in ‘baby’ a couple more times, and he was absolutely positive it was still completely unintentional. Mostly they just kept getting more and more ridiculous.

Honey Buns.

Honey Bunny.

Smoochie.

Love Bug.

Sweetums.

Pooh Bear.

Phillip knew the most bizarre ones were only jokes, the whole thing having evolved far beyond the original intention. That didn't stop him from blushing the entire time. He couldn't even say what it was that made his face burn, other than the attention. The fact that Anne of all people, was now the one heaping her undivided attention - and her pure affection - on him. It still took getting used to. He wondered if he would ever get used to it.

Probably not.

They were now huddled on the couch in a mild food coma. Anne had wedged herself between Phillip and the back of the couch, tucked against his side with her legs wrapped around his.

“So which was your favorite?” she asked, head nestled against his shoulder.

“You mean you've run out?”

“No, I'm just afraid if I continue, your face might actually catch fire.” Anne laughed. Despite himself, Phillip felt his grow even hotter. “Are you blushing again?” she sing-songed. 

“No,” he lied. 

Anne lifted her head, inched upward a little bit to kiss him. “You are so unbelievably cute.” She pressed a few more errant kisses to his face. He wondered if she could feel how warm he was. “But you still have to answer my question.” 

“I think I like ‘baby’ best,” he said. 

She looked at him, eyes suspicious. “Is that just because it was first?” 

“Kind of? You’ve also absently called me that like three times since you started this whole thing. I think it’s your natural response? I like _that_ … I guess,” he mumbled. Suddenly feeling overwhelmingly shy, and wanting nothing more than to melt into the couch. 

A slow smile spread across her face. “Okay, you’re my baby then.” She kissed his cheek. “And you’re still unbelievably cute.” 

“I may have made a mistake in all this,” he groused. He didn’t mind being called cute, or baby. He hadn’t even really minded the ridiculous pet names either. Although ‘cute’ wasn’t necessarily the result he was going for most of the time. Somehow Anne seemed to realize that. 

“They’re just terms of endearment, Phillip.” She lifted her hand and cupped his cheek. “Because you are endeared to me. That means I’m able to think you’re the single most adorable person I have ever met. And the fact your face is as red as a tomato right now makes my heart want to explode. But I also think you’re offensively handsome and sexy and manly. So very manly,” she laughed. 

“That was very convincing,” he said. Although he was laughing along with her. 

“I know how I can prove it to you.” 

“Okay, how?” He arched his eyebrows. 

“We makeout.” 

Phillip nodded in appreciation. “That does sound like a good way to prove it.” 

“I think so. But we’ll need to makeout a lot. I have a lot to prove.” Anne laughed a little more, and kissed his jaw toward his ear. “I love you, baby,” she whispered.

“Now you’re just doing it on purpose,” he said, face growing hot once again. 

“Maybe.” She kissed back along his jaw, let her lips hover over his. “Do you want me to stop?” 

“No.” 

“Good, because I wasn’t going to.” She didn’t give him time to respond, and instead laid her lips against his. 

There was still so much about having Anne in his life that was foreign, so many little things that added up to one huge thing: she loved him. Miraculously, unbelievably, she loved him. Everything else he would probably get used to, the changes to his daily life, the idea of sharing everything with another person, and even the tiny, almost instinctive displays of affection. In time, he was certain, they would become so commonplace he wouldn’t blush crimson every time. But the fact she loved him? There was no way he would ever get used to that.


End file.
